The first time Briana Kohlbrenner came to the North Side, she says she felt at home. She sees a lot of the same qualities here that she sees in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where she grew up. "I love the diversity of cultures and businesses," she says.

I met Briana in the spring of 2009 at a 40 Below event, where she was describing her dream of opening her own art consignment shop and gallery. The Northside Collaboratory (now Northside UP) had recently converted a vacant storefront into a temporary art gallery. Our ultimate goal was to attract someone else into the space, and Briana was just the type of person we had in mind. We pitched her on the idea that night. Six months later, she opened Craft Chemistry, where she showcases and sells merchandise from local artists. The store will celebrate its third anniversary this fall, however improbable that once might have seemed.

"I was definitely naive going into all of this," she says. "Others might have done a market study and determined that the location was off the beaten path. But I'm the kind of person where I just know what I like, and I do what I like." Once the opportunity to start a business on the North Side presented itself, Briana never looked back, despite the warnings from naysayers.

"I believed that if I built something really awesome, people would come to it," she says.

And come they have. Craft Chemistry has become a Central New York hot spot for artists and innovators. Briana has a growing base of loyal customers, and she routinely organizes events and gallery openings that will attract hundreds of visitors.

She's not just attracting visitors to the North Side, however; she's also attracting fellow artists and entrepreneurs. Jeff Walter and Damian Vallelonga own Lock 49, a graphic and web design firm, now located in the back office space of Craft Chemistry. They are both natives of Syracuse's East Side, who had left the area to pursue careers in bigger cities. After coming home and deciding to start a business together, they began to look for a location.

"Both the density of architecture and cultural diversity of North Salina were really inspiring to me," says Vallelonga.

Jeff Walter was surprised to rediscover the North Side after he'd moved back. "I suddenly found myself riding down North Salina on my bike one day, and I was amazed that this street existed in Syracuse," he says. "The place had a great vibe, but it also felt like it needed a boost of energy."

The fact that the neighborhood was still rough around the edges made the North Side more attractive to Damian and Jeff. Damian insists that he returned to Syracuse because he wanted to help bring vitality back to his hometown. "I saw Syracuse as a place full of opportunity, rather than a lost cause," he says. "For me, vacancy is an invitation to be creative and fill space. I didn't want to be somewhere that was already fully defined."

This is the second in occasional reports on Syracuse's North Side neighborhood. The updates by people working to improve the neighborhood are prepared for Syracuse.com and the City Neighbors section of The Post-Standard. Today's report was written by Dominic Robinson, director of the Northside Urban Partnership.

Robinson also serves as the deputy director of Urban Initiatives for the CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity. He lives in Syracuse with his wife, Jonnell, and their two children, Ila and Owen. He can be reached at drobinson@northsideup.org.

What are your ideas for improving the North Side? Post constructive comments below. Of, if you'd like them published in City Neighbors, send them to citynews@syracuse.com and be sure to include your name and a daytime phone number for verification.

Since Lock 49 brought their offices to 745 N. Salina St., Brendan Rose, local artist and architect, has begun to work from the store as well. Brendan points out that the heritage of the neighborhood is a draw for him.

"Some people look at what the North Side used to be and are disappointed by what has been lost," he says. "For us, we look at a place that has long been home to innovators, entrepreneurs and inventors, and we're inspired by that. We want to help maintain that energy."

In addition to focusing on their own businesses, the four artists collaborate on projects and plan events together. The increased energy and activity in Craft Chemistry attracts even more visitors, people who might not otherwise venture to the North Side. All four agree that they are offering many visitors a fresh perspective on the neighborhood.

"People come to events here and feel a unique and spontaneous sense of community," says Rose. "Those feelings stay with people; they shape the way people think and feel about a place. A lot of people suddenly see possibility here."